


Scattered Flowers

by Starrie_Wolf



Category: Saki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Gen, Nationals, Riichi Mahjong, mahjong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 11:39:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18120062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrie_Wolf/pseuds/Starrie_Wolf
Summary: Even if it means giving up the championship title, Nodoka wouldn't mind - as long as Saki smiles like that again.





	Scattered Flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Icie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icie/gifts).



There’s a face she doesn’t expect to see when she exits the tournament stage.

“Saki-san!”

Saki looks up, a wan smile flitting across her features. Even as faint as it is, the sight still makes Nodoka’s heart skip a beat. She frowns at the strange feeling. Maybe the buffet lunch just now didn’t agree with her stomach…

Nodoka shakes her head, putting nonsensical ponderings out of her mind. There are blessedly no reporters around to hound her this time, leaving her free to grab Saki by the hand and to lead her in the direction of their usual vending machine.

She hasn’t expected Saki to have been there waiting for her, but it’s a welcome surprise nonetheless; even just standing next to her like this makes Nodoka’s nerves settle a little bit more. And she isn’t prone to flights of fancy or hyperbole, but if she _has_ to describe this feeling, she supposes it’s a bit like… hmm, finding something she hasn’t even realised was missing in the first place?

They finish their drinks in pensive silence.

“Eh, Nodoka-san?” Saki suddenly says. “Later, during the last hand…”

“South Hand 4?” Nodoka confirms, although she doesn’t think Saki can be talking about anything else. “The captain’s told me to be careful during that hand…”

It doesn’t make any sense to her, of course, but she supposes a player who’s been steadily losing points throughout the game may very well be desperate enough to aim for a big comeback in the final hand of the entire game. Though, to prepare for it as though it’s an eventuality…

Sometimes, Nodoka despairs as to the lack of logic of everyone around her.

But Saki is still looking at her intently with that concerned expression on her face, and it’s all Nodoka can do to smile and nod in agreement.

Saki smiles back, relief dimpling her cheeks, and the sight of it feels exactly like getting a _tsumo_ on a _kazoe-yakuman_.

She wants to put that smile on Saki’s face again.

“Um, let’s win the Nationals together!” Nodoka blurts out.

Saki blinks with honest surprise, and then she _beams_.

“Let’s do that, Nodoka-san!”

* * *

_Kokushi-mus_ _ou_.

Worse, a thirteen-wait _kokushi-mus_ _ou_ , which is worth twice as many points.

Nodoka leaves the tournament stage as soon as she can. She doesn’t know how she manages to keep her legs from shaking, but she somehow does. In her mind’s eye, she can already see Kiyosumi slipping down the rankings, Shiraitodai rising up from last place.

She grits her teeth and hurries on towards Kiyosumi’s resting room.

“– like a queen taking her rightful place!” the announcer is shrieking into the microphone when she opens the door, and Nodoka’s expression feels frozen, brittle. She wants to stamp her foot in frustration. She wants to –

“Nodoka-san!”

She swallows down her uncharacteristic bout of emotional outburst, but she can’t dredge up a smile for Saki, not now.

“I’m sorry, everyone.” She bows deeply, unable to look at anyone else in the room. “I wasn’t able to hold on to our lead.”

They are in second place, yes, but they are almost 100,000 points behind Shiraitodai, thanks to the _tsumo_ double _yakuman_ from Shibuya Takami. All the points that Yuuki-senpai and Mako-senpai and Hisa-senpai have painstakingly gathered...

A hand falls on her shoulder. Startled, Nodoka looks up.

Hisa-senpai smiles down at her. “It’s all right,” she says. “Saki will get them back for us.”

Nodoka turns her head towards the door, as if magnetised.

Saki isn’t smiling, but she looks quietly determined, like nothing is going to be able to stand in her way, and in that moment Nodoka can’t help but _believe_.

She doesn’t believe in miracles or superpowers, but she can and _will_ believe in Saki.

* * *

“ _Riichi_.”

Nodoka does not understand this play style _at all_. Intimidation, maybe, or just an expression of her annoyance that it wasn’t a _chihou_? It is true that Awai is incredibly fortunate, for her to be in _tenpai_ from the get-go when everyone else is starting with five or six _shanten_ hands, but Nodoka has never quite endorsed that particular brand of childish acting out.

“Kan.”

Nodoka doesn’t know what Saki is thinking, or what she’s hoping to achieve when her hand looks like that, but she knows better than to discount Saki because of that. After all, Saki is also the one who turned a simple _haneman_ into a _kazoe-yakuman_ against Koromo in the semi-finals.

Shizuno bites her lip and discards a safe tile. That doesn’t make very much sense either; Shizuno is dealer this round, and one tile away from _tenpai_ , surely the logical thing to do would be to play offensively instead of defensively.

Awai scowls, throwing down her next draw. She’s already got two _dora_ , by Nodoka’s count, but what matters is not how big Awai’s hand is: what matters is that for every hand Awai wins, whether big or small, it is another chance for a comeback they _lose_.

Saki considers her tiles and decisively breaks her pair. It’s a good decision, Nodoka supposes. She can’t _kan_ on that one when Awai’s holding the other two – wait.

Ahhh, why is she encouraging this unscientific play?!

She looks away from the television screen for a bit, just in time to catch the deeply troubled looks Hisa-senpai and Mako-senpai are sending each other.

“What –” she clears her throat, “what’s wrong?”

“If Saki wins this, it’ll bring her total above plus/minus zero,” Hisa-senpai comments.

Nodoka does some quick calculations in her head. Yes, it would indeed… and they all know how deeply ingrained that habit is in Saki. She doesn’t know what happened, or why Saki feels so strongly compelled to play that way, but all of that doesn’t matter. Saki is important to her. If it makes Saki happy, even if it means giving up on the tournament –

She catches sight of Saki’s face again, and her breath catches in her throat.

“Saki-chan!” Yuuki-senpai shouts.

Nodoka is barely aware of the clatter of her chair as she stands up, eyes fixed on the television screen. “Come on, Saki-san,” she whispers, like she can _will_ Saki into hearing her voice, into understanding that someone will support her no matter what choice she makes.

As though Saki can hear her, she smiles – and pushes four tiles down.

“ _Tsumo. Chinitsu. Toitoi. Suuankou. Suukantsu. Rinshan kaihou_.” Saki is practically _glowing_ , a radiant smile upon her face, and Nodoka can’t tear her gaze away.

Dimly, she hears the announcer scream into the microphone, “The winner is Kiyosumi High School!”


End file.
